Christmas 2008

This holiday season started with different levels of bad news and bad weather, but Christmas Eve as I was putting the finishing touches on the stockings and preparing the stuffing and home-made cranberry sauce and T made his fabulous pies from scratch to get a head start on the big Christmas meal, it promised to be a very pleasant day on Christmas.

You know with the weather being crappy and my work taking a little slow-down, I had more time to think about Christmas Day this year, and in my opinion it was a special one. I took time to bake this year, and I really wanted the dinner to be special, so I chose the ingredients carefully and prepped everything to the tightest details -- that is something I usually forget to do!

The weather was as good as we could expect and as the family trickled in for Christmas morning brunch the mood was actually pretty jovial. The kids had a great time opening the presents, somehow they seemed more reasonable this year, a better quality of gifts and less quantity. I think it was WAY better that way actually. The presents were not opened and put aside for the next one... they had to time to open and enjoy each and every gift.

After brunch and things had wound down for the afternoon, everyone went home to prepare for the big feast that would come later. The turkey was a huge free-range bird compliments of my father in law, and it was gorgeous! I prepped it with all the normal care and attention and popped it in the oven to be lovingly basted and checked on for the next several hours.
As the dinner guests trickled in, I had smoked salmon pate and hummus ready for dipping, and a nice selection of baked goodies for sampling.
Dinner was served at about 6:30.
The beautiful bird was done to perfection, (if I do say so myself). The careful attention and basting resulted in a lovely brown on the skin and a succulent, flavourful and moist meat! The sausage and cranberry stuffing was also moist and flavourful, the cranberry sauce was tart and sweet, the mashed potatoes a creamy dream, the yams I baked in a maplesyrup-brownsugar+butter sauce, each topped with a pecan (super yummy), and of course there were the brussel sprouts done tender and smothered in butter. The only less-than perfect thing was the gravy.... somehow it got a bit salty for my taste. All in all I was very proud of the results, the days of hard work paid off. And of course, T's pies were simply amazing! That man has a gift with making pies! This year it was apple and pumpkin, mmmmmmmm....

We went to bed too full to sleep, turkey lethargy combatting the taut tummy. It was a good Christmas day.

T's sister and family stayed at their home on Gabriola Island this Christmas (a first), so we offered to come see them Boxing Day on their home turf for a lunch. It gives the cousins a chance to play and exchange gifts. The weather was simply TERRIBLE! Much warmer than it has been in a while, but driving slushy snow blown hard against us the whole way. (The picture is us on the ferry, the poor dog was in the back of the truck suffering the blowing slush).


Thankfully, while we were there, the weather calmed down considerably! Tim's sister made a very tasty brunch and the cousins all played very nicely (no tears!). After we had eaten and the presents were revealed and played with, I noticed animals taking advantage of a break in the storm. There were tonnes of little chickadees making noise outside the windows, and a small herd of deer made their way across the feilds. (T's sister lives in a tiny little house on a huge waterfront farm. They are officially caretakers of the farm when the owner is away in the winter, but it is a really simple job as all the animals are wintered elsewhere. The house is really too small for a family of five, only 2 bedrooms, but the amazing property with the really-cheap rent has kept them there. )

The bad news that has been at the back of my mind this season has really just made me appreciate the blessings of the season all the more... I hope all of your Christmas's were bright and full of love too!

PS I forgot to mention my gifts! We all agreed to keep things simple for the grown ups, but I feel I was spoiled, as usual. (My husband has a real talent for making my stocking both entertaining and functional.) I actually got some toys this year, a hotwheels, a little horse stuffed beany baby, and a big squishy ball-critter (that I just love), along with a nice assortment of quality chocolate, cozy socks and practical kitchen gadgets. My "big" present was a garden composter, I have wanted one for a while, but didn't think I would get one as T thinks they are dumb.... he got it for me anyways that nice man!

More and More

What a crazy year for snow!

The picture with my hand is on top of the tent trailer..... untouched by shovel or child.

This pick-up truck is my father in law's 4x4 on the street in front of our house. That's just what came down yesterday afternoon, I know that because our road was plowed yesterday morning, and the picture was taken at around 4 pm!

The boys are in the front "lawn" right now having a great time.

Those big snow banks are what my street looks like right this minute! The whole street teamed up with shovels to dig trails in the snow so we could get down to the road. It looks really bad, but once you get off our street it is quite clear! All plowed nicely. It is much much warmer today, so I anticipate alot will melt during the daylight hours.

Colder and Deeper

This has to be the worst winter for snow and cold in over a decade!

Seriously, it's NEVER this cold! As illustrated above, sure the icicles outside my son's window are pretty but, I would rather see the pavement on the road while I drive.

My happy little valley got way more snow than the north end of town, and though the roads are plowed, shovelling the driveway is getting mightily annoying 2 - 4 times a day. It's snowed almost every day! And they have posted a weather warning for Sunday that is asking folks to stock up on food, lighting equipment, etc with a wind warning and heavy snow (they even said Blizzard conditions!), where are we?

This isn't the Arctic!

It's the warm west coast!

It's supposed to be rainy in December!

But life must go on... Christmas is still coming, preparations must be made.

Today we go out looking for a tree!

Today a bit of food shopping must be done for milk and eggs and dogfood.

Today Steve has to do his paper route through thisfrozen landscape..... BRRRR!!!!!

Here is the growth of the icicle outside my kitchen window:

#1: "Wow Mom! Look at How big that icicle is!"#2: "Mom, mom! Look it's even bigger this morning!"#3: "Mom, can I break it?" (It's about 3 ft long now and still growing!)

This and THAT

I've been tagged!!!!

RULE ONE, I have to grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO, I have to pick five people who love books and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

MY QUOTE: "We don't know where he went."

"I know" said James.

"Look, Mother. I see Jet."

- Jan Palmer

from the May I Come In? Primary Reader.

(It was the closest book, Cammie is attempting to read to me these days!)

I will have to break rule 5, all of my blogging buddies total 4, and 3 of you are on the same list as Wolfgrrrrl! Tee, if you want to give it a shot!?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On a more serious note, the weather is bitterly cold and my temper was bitterly hot this morning.

The boys were up at 6:30 am this morning, (so it started off badly for me one hour before my alrm goes off). I tried to look at the bright side as more time to get ready, since I was told to make sure the truck had a good ten minutes to warm up this morning.

At 8:15 I asked the boys to get ready for a very very cold outside -- in fact this is the coldest it's been here in their entire lives! The procrastinated and avoided and farted around doing this that and the other until I LOST IT! I ranted at them like some rabid maniac over mittens and boots and lunch bags. The last straw was when Steve was putting his lunch into his bag and remembered that the zipper was broken on his backpack. He starts ordering me to find another bag for him! OMG! I exploded screaming about how he had the whole weekend to get another bag and why did he have to bring it up NOW right when we had to GO... so I gave him a plastic grocery bag and told him to deal with it when he got home from school. I went outside and managed to yank the frozen door on the truck open and start the very sluggish engine into life in time to have it warmed up for 10 minutes. Steve was looking forward to being the one to start the truck but he just did NOT have his crap together in time and I was fed up.

I had to scrape ice off the INSIDE of the windows even after the 10 minutes, I have never had to do that before.

As I was loading the kids out of the house the dog slipped out. He ran around in the snow ignoring my calls and even worse the boys ignored the whole thing too even as the dog ran around their legs, so it was entirely up to me to get the flippin' dog back in the house!!!! I went utterly freakazoid at that point stomping and flailing my arms, growling insanely until the rage passed. The kids loaded in the truck, I got them safely to school, told them to have a nice day and came home. Now I am ashamed, my throat is raw, my eyes hurt (I wouldn't be surprised if they had rolled back into my head at some point) and my neck muscles are seriously tight. What a crappy monday morning on an othewise breathtakingly beautiful bright morning.

My mom got out in time!

My mom came for a visit for a few days, it was nice to see her so close to Christmas and the kids enjoyed seeing her too. She left as the snow started falling for the first time this season Thursday morning. We got about 2 1/2 inches, and then it kind of turned to slush by afternoon. Yesterday the roads were clear so I went out to run a few errands and get milk, etc. Boy am I glad I did!

It looked like we might have been done with it for a while.... well the weatherman called for another inch, but so far it's over 18 inches of the white stuff in Cinnabar!!!!

It was shocking to see it in all it's glory this morning, but it was supposed to stop mid morning... it's still coming down strong

At least the kids are having a great time. They couldn't wait to get out there and spent 8am - noon (I called them in!) playing and romping with the dog. Since Steve is wearing MY boots I have a great excuse to stay in so far.

Mom might be home by now.... it takes a couple days to get from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert and then across to the Queen Charlotte's...

My roses got it again! Silly roses, don't they know it's almost Christmas?

Education for the masses

I am so tired of having struggles in the school system.

"there is something wrong with your kid"....I've heard it before said in all sorts of tactful and not so tactful ways. The truth of it is there is something wrong with modern education!

Education for the masses had industrialized learning to the most common denominator and doesn't leave any room whatsoever for differences. No doubt, something to do with large class sizes and rigid curriculum's. I realize they can't change that just for the minority, but it doesn't make it any less depressing from my challenged position.

My poor boys have been pigeonholed as learning disabled without any real consideration to what makes them tick. Sitting in rows quietly listening to lectures does NOT make them tick... in fact it causes massive boredom and frustration. Writing things down does not make them learn either as these particular boys will go to any lengths to avoid putting pencil to paper even if they know the answer.... they would rather get the answer wrong than write it down!

KEEP IN MIND ---- I value education, I love reading and listening, and as a result I did just fine. I took it as a personal challenge to outwit the grading system and squeeze "A"s out of teachers. 90% of the time it's not how much you know, but knowing WHICH things the teacher wants, and how he or her prefers it delivered.... figure that out and school isn't too tough at all.

My boys can't do it the traditional way, and they are being condemned to the 13 years (including Kindergarten) of this mass produced drudgery with almost guaranteed low output. Where is the reward for them if they don't stand a chance to really succeed? Will they just have to put in their time until school is over and they can get a job that benefits from their strengths? How will they know what to look for in work when their experience has been so limited to mediocrity for the majority of their lives?

They NEEEEEED to know how to read, write, type and basic math in this country. And they pretty much NEED a high school education to find meaningful employment as adults too.

What are my options?

1. I know I am not of the temperament to homeschool, sad but true, their headstrong resistance to the education I know drives me as crazy as the teachers!


2. Private schools are prohibitively expensive, limited in selection and no guarantees we would have any more success.


3. The last option is to carry on with public school and try to make sure the other parts of their days are successful for them. They do have friends and that is valuable too!
   

We have conceded to the teachers requests in so many ways...

We've had Steve assessed by a Paediatrician, Psychiatrist and had an in depth Educational Analysis done.

Firstly, he has ADHD for which we have been BULLIED INTO medicating him at the school.
Also, all this testing revealed he is learning disabled in a rather rare category that makes his general knowledge and comprehension above average for his age, but his input skills (reading and writing) well below average, a toughie when you are tying to keep up with the class. I was relieved when the professionals gave us designation with a learning plan outlined in detail for how to teach Steve, I thought that would help him share what he is really learning!

But, the worst of it is, after all that, they have still disregarded most of the results and keep whining that he needs MORE MEDICATING without implementing the strategies recommended by the professionals. (The paediatrician is on our side, she faxed the school a letter today saying that his medication is doing what is is supposed to do for his ADHD and that they need to address his learning disability as outlined in his learning plan to help him reach his potential!!! Hooray for her!!!!) Indeed, they have been told year after year what is necessary in order for Steve to reach his full learning potential, but they are ignoring it because it's "too hard" with so many kids in the class. With a LD designation he is supposed to qualify for extra help, but it isn't in the budget, oh well....

Ugh.

I feel like I am standing in a Plexiglas booth, inches away from the solution but unable to reach it.

School Woes

Raising kids is the most challenging thing I could ever imagine. I don't know how I am going to cope with puberty when this stage is maxed me out already!

Report cards came home, and the news was not good. Not good at all.

Steve has consistently received decent marks in Math and Science up to now, but grade 6 seems to have broke him, and his poor organization skills and disabled fluency in the basics are biting him in the rear. Even though he has a learning disability designation, no changes have been made to his workload, so I guess this is a real gauge of how he does in a real world situation. He is passing, but just barely. At least all the teachers he has had up to now seem to like him and appreciate his contributions to the class. BUT the teachers won't even teach him unless he is on his medication, they say he is too disruptive and off task so they send him to the library to work. The meds are something that 'T' LOATHES, but has conceded to allow, for my sake.

Cam is a tough nut. The teacher he has now has accused him of being unable to maintain focus and feels that his skills are a grade below where they should be in almost all areas. Another batch of sour news on top of the reports of him getting detentions for talking during lessons and playing too rough last week. She taught Steve 4 years ago (they got on fine) and I think she has painted the younger brother with the same brush. And the worst part is I don't think the teacher even likes him. Cam can be exceptionally stubborn, his ears shut right off when he chooses not to participate. Honestly I think he just doesn't find school IMPORTANT and therefore doesn't pay attention. I'm not sure how to impress upon him that he is sabotaging himself!

So even though we do reading and homework every single freakin' night, both kids' reports ask for ME to work MORE with them on every aspect of academics at home. Cam needs to read more words, and count by 2s and 5s and 10s (Some 3 year olds can do that, but it's just not important to him). Steve needs to chose fiction chapterbooks to read, and needs more development in sentence structure and other more complicated things.... oh and learn to type this year too.

WHEN?!

Seriously how many hours a day do these poor boys have to work on these things that they don't like!? I realize at this age, school is their job, but they also need to have find to develop the things that they ARE good at! Time to explore their own personalities, grow friendships, get outside and get dirty! I want Steve to start to learn some cooking, and the boys should be helping with the chores occasionally too. I think these things may be far more important to hyper boys than the extra reading and discussion that they want (and will surely result in temper tantrums). Not to mention I am only one person, how am I supposed to coach and give extra time to TWO boys every night when I also need to keep my clients happy, prepare dinner and still get some "me" time in when everyone shuts off the lights at 9pm at this house?!?!?!

I am so flippin' frustrated with school right now! I want to cry.... couldn't I just have had ONE kids that understood how much easier life is with good listening skills... just ONE????

(It doesn't help that my sister's kids are SO well behaved -- yes I'm jealous and I'm not too proud to admit it)

Yummy Yumm

It was a really neat thing the other night! It was a culinary demonstration party put on by a French-trained, British chef that has been cooking and teaching cooking for almost 50 years. He retired from the local University a while back and has a cafe downtown, but him and his wife thought they would try this new idea of having the instructional dinner parties. They converted their garage into a cooking studio with a bank of stools set around the cooking and prep area.... really neat.

We were told to bring our own wine, and a minimum of eight participants.... So my sister's neighbour called all "the girls" together (and me) and we booked the date.

There were :
3 kinds of brushetta on his homemade bread (caramelized onion, cheese/feta & pesto, concasse tomato),
homemade hummus on homemade pita,
lox on tortilla crisps with a nice mustard sauce,
phyllo wrapped spanokapitas,
phyllo wrapped samosas (really tasty variation),
stuffed tiger prawns,
orange chicken satays,
garden rolls with peanut sauce,
pork dumplings with a hoisin drizzle,
.... and then he showed us how to make cream puffs (shoe buns) stuffed with whipcream and a chocolate ganache!

He demonstrated how to make all of it and then we each got some as they were done.... mmmmmmmm!

I was so full !!!!! I had a terrible, awful nasty sleep because I was uncomfortably stuffed and oniony..... and my clothes smelled of carmelized onions for many days afterwards, but it was worth it!

What a fun idea.

(picture)